February 2008
Guadeloupe - Les Saintes - Dominica - Martinique - St. Lucia
We hired a car on the first of February to explore the island. The forest walks off the Route de la Traversee were relaxing, cool and interesting with a huge variety of impressive plants to wander amongst plus some waterfalls. In the afternoon we walked part of the way up La Soufriere, the active volcano on the south of the island for interesting walking through more forest, good views of the Isle des Saintes and the mist-shrouded and steep looking upper section - you need a full day to make the best of that ascent.
At the weekend it was carnival and as we walked around the town looking at some of the older buildings we came across noisy and flamboyant carnival bands jigging and drumming their way through the crowded streets. The carnival goes on for a few more days yet and as there's swell and squalls forecast we are happy to stay put and join in the fun.
On 6th February we sailed back to Isles des Saintes - 24 miles in a F 4 to 5 with some Atlantic swell rollng in under our port quarter giving a rolly trip. Anchored off Bourg des Saintes we caught up with Paul & Janie our friends on Shian who are voyaging northwards at the moment. The anchorage off the town in rolly so we moved the next day to the anchorage behind Pain de Sucre (Anse du Bois Joli) which is more protected but a wet dinghy ride upwind to the town.
While there we walked up to the fort above the town and spotted two large green/blue iguanas cropping the vegetation amongst the goats.
Despite a strongish wind and swell forecast we left on 11th for the 21-mile sail to Portsmouth, Dominica. Two reefs in the main and 1/3 of the headsail saw us in the anchorage in 3 3/4 hours and on the crossing we saw pilot whales - the first we had seen. We were met by Jeffery, one of the 'boat boys (Indian River Guides) who operate there. We spent three days in Portsmouth in strong winds. Jeffrey took us for an early morning trip up the Indian River. This short trip is interesting for the wild life and the plants and the fact it was used as a location for filming the witches cottage scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean. We tried to organise an inland tour but the weather continued to be wet and cloudy so there were no other cruisers willing to share the expense. On Valentnes Day Jacky and I enjoyed a romantic dinner for .... five (!) at Big Pappas beach restaurant in the company of Tim, Val and their guest from catamaran Valkyrie.
On Friday 15th we sailed south along the coast to Roseau. The seas were flat in the lee of the island and the wind erratic - from 7 knots under sail to motoring all in the space of a few miles. We were close in to the attractive shoreline and entertained by rainbows against the green hills all the way.
We picked up a mooring in the very deep harbour at Roseau with the help of 'Sea Cat' who also ferried us to the main town where we found an large and excellent vegetable and fruit market.
The weather was still grey and wet so again no island tour so we decided to move on south to St. Pierre in Martinique. The 36 mile crossing in 20 knot winds was a pleasure and of course, an hour out, the clouds lifted over Dominica - it would have been a good day for the tour! During the course of this passage we left the Leeward Islands and entered the Windward Island group. Checking in to Martinique is really easy now - you complete an online form in a local cafe / restaurant while sipping a cold beer and the bartender stamps the print-out - very civilised and free. In the afternoon we walked round the town and the old fort buildings.
Dingied ashore early in the next morning to buy French bread from the back of a lorry. Then south again the next day to Trois Ilets near Fort de France in F3 ESE winds. We anchored at Case Pilote, a small fishing village for lunch and a swim before moving on to St. Pierre.
Turning into the vast Baie de Fort de France we sailed hard on the wind but in smooth water across the bay then negotiated the shallow banks and islands around Trois Ilets.
We found an anchorage behind a very small island near the golf course - a quite unique place which we shared with a yacht from the Netherlands.
Despite worries that the long fetch across the Baie would give us a rolly night the anchorage was very comfortable in 20 knot winds.
We decided that we'd go into almost every anchorage on the west coast of Martinique as I'd missed most of them last year. We motored round to Anse Mitan where we spent the a day, ate ice creams and observed the total eclipse of the moon which was pretty dramatic as the moon went red as predicted. (NASA picture) Photographing an eclipse from the deck of a boat swaying at anchor is not easy. The photo is as good as we could get.
We moved on on Thursday 21st to Grande Anse d'Arlet - a whole 7 miles - which left us plenty of time to explore the pretty village with a sandy beach and coconut palms. We enjoyed a meal there in the Resaturante de la Arcade.
Leaving Grande Anse d'Arlet we motored 1 mile round to Petite Anse d'Arlet for breakfast at anchor and then set off again for the 21 miles to Le Marin, one of the big boating centres on Martinique. As we cut inside Diamond Rock using the Passe due Fous (Madman's Pass) a squall hit us as we were reducing sail. Luckily it held mainly wind and not much rain.
As we beat across the bay towards Le Marin we encountered a local 'yole' - a boat crewed by loads of people who hang out over the windward side on long movable poles, two or three bodies to a pole, just hanging over the pole with nothing else to hang on to. The three helmsmen use the long steering oar to row the boat through the wind during tacks while the crew frantically scramble inboard, move the pole across and scrabble out again. Fascinating to watch this low-tech, but seriously campaigned racing boat in action.
Le Marin was crowded with yachts and Saturday night was music night in the beach bars. We enjoyed lunch at Marin Mouillage and checked out with customs - identical and just as easy to checking in. The French Islands have made clearance procedures easy thus encouraging cruisers to visit.
We left Martinique on Sunday 24th for a 25 mile crossing to St Lucia in a perfect weather window on a lovely beam reach in F3 winds with 8 or 10 other yachts going north or south. Nice not to be hard on the wind for a change. The beach bars in Rodney Bay were in full swing and went on most of the night as there were independence day celebrations in St Lucia. We swam and went ashore to check in. We found another Moody 419 at anchor in the lagoon - I'd seen the boat before in Grenada, but now we met the owners of 'Tuppence', Mike and Angela. They are both ex-police hence the name of the boat.... think about it.... We both enjoyed exploring and comparing each other's boats which are both 1986 models, but subtly different nevertheless.
We spent a couple of days at Rodney Bay re-provisioning and taking a dollar bus into Castries to look round the town and find a choke control knob for the outboard which had mysteriously jumped off while the dinghy was tied up in Martinique. 'Valmonts' the Yamaha dealer in Castries, was truly excellent - well stocked, friendly and helpful.
On 27th February we left Rodney Bay for Vigie / Castries. The anchorage in Vigie was full of the dreaded and unoccupied mooring balls so we went into the main Castries port itself - the only boat in there and treated to late night karaoke from a nearby bar. When we woke up the following morning there were two cruise ships already docked near us and two more arriving. We felt very small indeed!
We sailed for Soufriere but called in at Marigot and Anse de Raye on the way. Marigot is highly developed and a charter base. We anchored amongst the mooring balls for a coffee and then took on water from the marina. Anse de Raye was a lunch and swim stop. Soufriere is one of those places where anchoring is tricky because it's so deep close in. We picked up a mooring with the help of a local water taxi who then proceeded to put a boat that was far to big on the mooring next to us. Luckily they were sensible and ran a line to an anchor to winch themselves away from us.
The anchorage is right under the most northerly 'Piton' a 2,500 foot high volcanic plug which plunged precipitously into the water. Ashore there are small shacks with pig sty's along the beach and pigs sheltering in the shade of the boats pulled up on the shore.
On Friday 29th February we sailed the short distance round to one of the most spectacular anchorages in the Caribbean.
The Pitons anchorage is in a small bay between the Pitons - two huge steep volcanic plugs. There's a discrete hotel behind the beach where you can email and drink sundowners while watching the sun set over your boat. An amazing place.
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